I Blog about creating Fine Art, using Colored Pencils and also Oil Paints. Working in the studio as well as "En Plein Air", (In the Open Air). Come in and join the fun!
My colored pencil work requires 20-25 layers of artist quality pencils. Trying to foster respect for artists who choose a nonstandard media is challenging. I hope this blog will show Colored Pencil deserves the respect from collectors and galleries as a fine art medium.

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Monday, July 25, 2011

The Artist's Journal Workshop by Cathy Johnson- Great Book Review

I have to recommend a book I just received and hadn't been able to put down until I finished it. The Artists Journal Workshop - creating your life in words and pictures by Cathy Johnson. It is a real motivator for me an avid sketch book/journal collector. (Albeit a collector of many empty journals.) OK I'm not that lazy as many of you may think, it's a long and sorted traumatic story dating back to my childhood when my brother found and read my diary! Since then I always liked the ideas of journaling thoughts, sketches, and such but I was always afraid someone would read it and not understand my rantings. Writing has always afforded me a way to work thru feelings, list to do's or want to do's (I'm a crazed list maker, just ask my family) and of course being an artist there is the need to sketch. Whether to work out a new painting layout, practice my skills, doodle, document a trip or just plan recap my day.

With this book Cathy shows you how she and 27 other insightful artists do just that. No I'm not a paid North Light Books employee, but I wouldn't mind if they sent me free books to review. It is just a wonderfully done book, showing you how to get over the blank WHITE page, tips and techniques to get you to make this a habit, suggests materials to use, how to put together an efficient and small journal kit for travel and a more complete one for at home. No this is not an Art Journal, you know the unique pieces of art in and of themselves made from old books or all collage based. Although I think an artist's personal journal shows that art is their daily life, and thus a work of art for them.

This was just the book to get me moving again and start to fill some of the journals I have collected. Next on the to do list is to organize a sketch crawl. More on that at a later date.

I have been working on a colored pencil wave image, not large and more for practice than anything for a larger piece. Now back to the colored pencils, oh maybe I should get dinner started..........

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Copyright Notice

Please note, all artwork and photographs on this blog are copyright of myself or other contributors as noted. Thank you for looking and thank you for not using any image without permission. Respecting copyright laws should be the goal of all artists.